Water Online Highlights

  1. Colorado River Conservation Depends On The Delivery System 9/8/2026

    The Department of the Interior issued the 2027-2028 Operating Guidelines, calling for Lower Basin deliveries to drop by 1.25 million acre-feet annually in 2027 and 2028, with a minimum of 700,000 acre-feet of additional voluntary conservation over those two years. While temporary reductions are a start, water districts and water professionals should also consider delivery upgrades and on-farm improvements in agricultural areas that prepare growers for a new reality with less water.

  2. No Easy Way To Add Supply: Bozeman Chooses Continuous Acoustic Monitoring 9/7/2026

    When water rights are fixed, capturing underground leakage is critical. Continuous acoustic monitoring identifies developing pipeline vulnerabilities early, reducing leak runtimes from months to days, cutting non-revenue water waste, and saving thousands in emergency repair costs.

  3. Illegal Wastewater Discharges And The Importance Of Organics Monitoring In Municipal Sewer Networks 9/7/2026

    Unpredictable industrial dumping overloads municipal wastewater treatment systems, driving up utility costs. Continuous inline monitoring provides real-time visibility into shifting organic loads, enabling collection teams to catch contamination spikes early and protect downstream biological processes.

  4. The High Cost Of Dirty Data In Wastewater Automation 9/4/2026

    High-frequency radar provides reliable wastewater level measurement that strengthens digital twins, predictive analytics, and automated collection systems while reducing sensor maintenance.

  5. Beyond The Screen: Why Debris Management Deserves More Attention 9/4/2026

    Evolving debris characteristics and aging collection infrastructure place unprecedented operational stress on downstream equipment. Evaluating preliminary treatment efficiency helps facilities eliminate chronic maintenance demands, safeguard critical infrastructure, and protect operating budgets.

  6. 5 Questions To Ask Before Reusing Clarifier Specifications 9/4/2026

    Reusing master equipment specifications without evaluating application-specific hydraulics or basin geometries creates costly mechanical conflicts. Auditing legacy requirements ensures every structural and operational component directly supports site-specific treatment goals.

  7. Renewable Biogas From Wastewater Treatment: A Critical Pathway To Net Zero 9/4/2026

    Converting organic wastewater residuals into methane-rich biogas creates a circular energy system. Modernizing digester mixing, thermal management, and gas containment reduces grid dependency, lowers facility operating expenses, and advances net-zero decarbonization goals.

  8. The Cost Of Waiting: Utilities Face A Narrowing PFAS Compliance Window 9/4/2026

    For years, the water industry's PFAS conversation centered on monitoring, testing, and regulatory anticipation. Today, that phase is largely over.

  9. Why Water Utilities Need Better Asset History, Not Just More Maintenance Data 9/4/2026

    For water and wastewater utilities, better asset history is not about collecting more data for its own sake. It’s about making existing inspection and maintenance information useful enough to support reliability, maintenance prioritization, capital planning, and long-term service delivery.

  10. PFAS Funding Is Flowing — But Does The Water Sector Have Enough People To Deliver It? 9/4/2026

    For several years, the PFAS conversation has centered on treatment options, testing, and funding. Those factors still matter, but they are no longer the primary constraint. Most utilities already understand the treatment routes available to them; the real challenge now is moving from technical possibility to operational performance, and that depends entirely on people.